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Questions tagged [statute-of-limitations]

A statutory "clock" that determines how long after an alleged crime charges may be brought.

34 votes
5 answers
17k views

Why do statutes of limitations exist?

I don't understand: why artificially create a set of deadlines before which one crime or another can be brought to the conviction stage? Why not be able to investigate and prosecute for an indefinite ...
Sergey Zolotarev's user avatar
4 votes
2 answers
2k views

How does the statute of limitations on defamation work?

My understanding is that defamation has a very short window for a lawsuit, like one year. So suppose a libelous statement was published in a widely circulated journal, call it the New York Times, and ...
Libra's user avatar
  • 6,498
1 vote
1 answer
1k views

Why is there a 'statute of limitation' for sex crimes?

As I understand it, there is no statute of limitations for murder: in contrast sex crimes (rape) have time limits to prosecute. Is there a line of reasoning to decide which classes of crime have a ...
gatorback's user avatar
  • 7,169